TGS '07: Japan's game(s) of the year announced

Joint award given at the Japan Game Awards 2007 as the winners are announced in a ceremony at the Makuhari Messe convention centre.

TOKYO--The Japan Game Awards 2007 Game of the Year gong, announced as part of the Tokyo Game Show, has this year gone to not one, but two titles, both of which were considered too good to miss out on the top prize.

The awards are organised by the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association--also the organisers of the annual Tokyo Game Show--and winners are chosen, from nominations received by the public, by the Japan Game Awards Selection Panel, made up of industry personnel. Games that were eligible for entry for this year's awards had to be released in Japan between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2007.

The first title, Nintendo's Wii Sports, won because of its ease of use and the view that people new to gaming could jump straight in and play it. In a statement, CESA said, "Wii Sports has totally revamped the image of traditional game consoles, and has won over new demographic sectors, particularly women and seniors."

The second winner, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, which is phenomenally successful in Japan, was described as "more than a game" by the panel. The game has now become a communication tool in its home country, the panel said, especially for junior high and high school students.

Other awards given at the event included the Best Sales Award, which went to Nintendo's Pokémon Diamond/Pearl--the games have shifted 4,930,000 units in the target year.

The Global Award Japanese Product went to Capcom's zombie-bashing Dead Rising, and the Global Award Foreign Product went to Microsoft's Gears of War--both Xbox 360 titles.

A number of games were also given the nod for excellence: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Ryu ga Gotoku 2, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Blue Dragon, New Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, Gundam Musou, and Okami.

173 Comments

  • noah10

    Posted Dec 3, 2008 8:55 pm PT

    Okami rules!(And alot of the other games they talked about lol .)

  • brian_13un

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 3:02 am PT

    Wow they got the awards

  • ng2006

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 11:10 pm PT

    I believe it won't show up around here! Poufff!

  • musicaz70

    Posted Oct 22, 2007 2:34 pm PT

    Ah man... See this is why I wub Japan oh so much, half of those games that recieved "nods" and some who got awards weren't even rated that good... But Japan has a completely different view on them than us, its refreshing for me to know that for some reason...

  • gfile

    Posted Oct 3, 2007 4:55 am PT

    Want this game for my PC, sigh

  • Stabby

    Posted Sep 30, 2007 1:32 pm PT

    "liquid_sleep

    Okami's great.

    I heard they're releasing it on the Wii so even more people can realize what a gem it is. Just hope they spend some time/money on marketing"

    No they're not, it was just a rumour and has been debunked.

  • 5th_element

    Posted Sep 29, 2007 6:40 am PT

    YEah 360 is the best!!!

  • 5th_element

    Posted Sep 29, 2007 6:40 am PT

    YEah 360 is the best!!!

  • MegaXtreme

    Posted Sep 27, 2007 9:04 pm PT

    Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM got a a nod, eh? I still need to buy it, but at least Japan still has love for Warriors games. Hell would freeze over before a Warriors game won an award in the US, or even get an honorable mention to boot.

  • Chaos_Pawner

    Posted Sep 27, 2007 2:16 am PT

    Not much fan of awarding games lately, but at least recognitions are nice to have. Anywayz, let's see what they have awarded and gave an honorable mention to (a "nod"). Well, congrats to the main winners of the award, whether I played them or not. Wow, Gears of War received an award, eh?? Coolios.

    As for the honorable mentions, hmm.... let see. Nice to see some good titles there, whether for hand-held or for the home console.

    I am so relieved that Okami got AT LEAST a "nod". As much as I wanted it to win an award, I'm happy enough to know that it is still an appreciated game. God, I love playing it to this day! ^-^

    Please, fellow Okami enthusiasts, do adore and praise Okami in a dignified way. Don't smear its good name by being so smugged about your enthusiasm over it and badmouthing other games. I'm a big Zelda fan to this and also happen to love Okami so much. I would rather spend my time playing Twilight Princess and Okami than comparing which game is better than the other. They are both amazing games. End of Story.

    Nice pick for hand-helds, especially Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and New Super Mario Bros.

    Kudos to Twilight Princess, Lost Planet, Yakuza, and Blue Dragon from at least getting a "nod", too.

  • Shishizaru6

    Posted Sep 26, 2007 1:19 pm PT

    Okami should win the award for most artistically beautiful game ever created.

  • Myriam_D

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 6:09 pm PT

    Okami. I've never even played it but that name sticks out to me. *hugs wolf*

  • Stabby

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 2:46 pm PT

    YAY! DEAD RISING!

  • nedeti

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 5:39 am PT

    Okami was really great.

  • jflkdjs

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 9:09 pm PT

    Okami

  • Cbordi

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 6:08 pm PT

    Okami

  • wiidominance

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 3:35 pm PT

    hmmm ... Wii sports again ... that game really shined worldwide.. many underestimated it, I was one of them ..

  • davijoboy

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 12:39 pm PT

    Poster below = idiot

  • Duvendor posted Sep 24, 2007 8:48 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Duvendor

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:48 am PT (hide)

    Gears of War Rox! Dead Rising Rox! Xbox 360 rules!

  • cocomacoco

    Posted Sep 23, 2007 10:40 pm PT

    Yakuza was great , one of my favorite japanese games of the PS2, they well deserve this award, but dead Rising???, good for nothing saving system, made one of the "could be best games ever" it makes the whole awards thing looked like a joke.

  • edhc44

    Posted Sep 23, 2007 6:30 pm PT

    @ ryuthekaizer1
    "Cool", idiots like you will never cease to exist.

    I'm impressed that Ruy ga Gotoku 2 got a "nod for excellence", I mean, Yakuza was not that great. Hope it manages to cross over here. And them, we can only dream of a Shenmue 3.

  • liquid_sleep

    Posted Sep 23, 2007 8:38 am PT

    Okami's great.

    I heard they're releasing it on the Wii so even more people can realize what a gem it is. Just hope they spend some time/money on marketing.

  • darth-revan

    Posted Sep 23, 2007 12:06 am PT

    Okami needs to have another chance. It was an amazing game that shouldnt have been subjected to the psychonauts treatment.

  • thrashunreal

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 10:20 pm PT

    If PS3 needs Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 needs PS3 because they push each other to make better games... then PS3 is horribly lagging. Wii FTW.

    Man, I am pissed I still haven't got to play Okami yet. This just reminded me. Great to see Blue Dragon up there. Gives me hope yet.

  • Orasion_Seiz

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 9:48 pm PT

    Good to see Okami up there

  • dracos9000

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 7:17 pm PT

    not a bad list I was surprised to see GOW and Dead Rising on there not because they are not good games(great games) but because I didn't see them catering much to the Japanese population. Wasn't surprised about Blue Dragon though I had a feeling it was gonna get something from Japan. Now only if I could beat the final boss of the game.

  • soulscraper86

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 7:13 pm PT

    Sorry Giratina667 if I appear to be offensive. The bracket behind there includes me as well =)

    Like what xanst said, some of us play for the nostalgic quality.

  • paksiwin

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 7:00 pm PT

    zelda tp

  • ryuthekaizer1 posted Sep 22, 2007 4:46 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    ryuthekaizer1

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 4:46 pm PT (hide)

    Cool gears all the way wii sports is crap though as is wii.

  • xanst

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    It didn't really matter how pokemon marketed, alot of older / casual gamers who got it just for the nostalgic quality.

  • OIB2

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    lol of course pokemon won something, that will forever be a classic

  • Giratina667

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 3:37 pm PT

    Uh.. Soulscraper, what you said about pokemon seemed a bit offensive,though I do admit it's marketed towards kids.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 3:04 pm PT

    No, this is all messed up. How can they not give it to Okami...

  • SuperH75mil

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 3:02 pm PT

    Wow...Japan and Gundam.

    I mean, I really like Gundam Musou (Dynasty Warriors Gundam, US), but despite my fandom of both the DW series and the UC Gundam timeline, I can still see why people think it's a pretty bland, repetitive, even stupid game.

    And yet, in Japan, Gundam means $$...and somehow, it also makes a game worthy of critical praise?? Weird...

  • PhillyDrew04

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 3:01 pm PT

    360 needs ps3 and p3s needs 360 because they push each other 2 do greater things and put out killer games and its great 2 c both systems win sumthing

  • HXCDEW

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 2:37 pm PT

    Well done Monster Hunter Portable 2nd. It's a great game and it's huge in Japan. If only it had infrastructure, it would have been an even better "communication tool". Also nice to see Okami and MGS: PO recognised for excellence. They are both great games.

    I think next year MGS4 will easily be the top contender for GOTY award. There's a lot of big games coming out, a lot of them on the PS3, so hopefully we'll see some really decent nominations.

  • fabitosan2

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 10:38 am PT

    metal gear 4 would be the winner for next gen games

  • prismtech

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 10:01 am PT

    yeah...no surprise there ..Wii Sport is pretty innovative and again good job on okami!

  • supernariz

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 9:51 am PT

    yah happy for okami too...
    great game....i got play that again....

  • Zacek1000

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 8:33 am PT

    Great! I'm happy for Okami!

  • mergirox

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 7:43 am PT

    @sparten1012

    cowisadince.........
    Theres americas eductional system for u lol

    Anyways, Im really proud that wii sports got goty bcause its the only game that was truly revolutionary and/or next gen, even though it was a tech demo. Okami... it should of gotten a better award but hey, if it werent for the japs, we wou;dnt have all these games

  • smeghead83

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 5:37 am PT

    Ok Wii sports yes i have a Wii and its one of the games am always playing..but monster hunter freedom 2? oh well

  • Agermemnon

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 3:23 am PT

    cough lol no suprise there cough cough

  • pigfish2 posted Sep 22, 2007 2:08 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    pigfish2

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 2:08 am PT (hide)

    monster huter freedom 2 and wii sports game of the year- what's going on

  • soulscraper86

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 1:07 am PT

    Although I haven't played any Xbox games (so I won't comment on them), the list is pretty spot on.

    Wii Sports won simply because of its impact on the gaming industry. It won over new demographics which equate to potential future hardcore gamers which in turn generate more cash for your favourite developers to continuously pump out games you love. Besides, its pretty fun when played in groups.

    Monster Hunter Portable 2nd. I'm not surprised at all. One of my favourite games of all time. I'm so glad that it made it out of Japan as MHF. Most people complained about the camera and the lack of lock-on-system. To me, I think the addition of the lock on system would most probably kill the game. Merely dodging a wyvern with a lock on system in addition to the other monsters around would drive me nuts. Great game. Skill is all you need.

    Pokémon. Again not surprised. Pretty good game. Cut it some slack. Not all gamers are teens/matured/old. Let the kids have their share in our love for games (not to say adults can't enjoy it as well)

    MGS: PO, Zelda and Okami are pretty awesome games in their own right. Gundam Musou... tried the demo, didn't really liked it but hey, its a Musou game, what more can I say. Gundam to Japanese are like Starwars to the West. Different culture. Live with it.

    Sony PS3 bashings? I agree that the PS3's library of games are lacking. But considering the period in which the awards cover (PS3 was only released for about half a year in the period) and the Japanese taste for games, one is pretty good.

    Still don't get the console fanboys war. Games are games. Doesn't matter which platform they are on.

  • smoothn00dle

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 12:37 am PT

    I never believe in reviews because everyone is different. Reviewers have their valves and I have mine. =======================================================
    Wii sport is scary.. 4 million copies sold. Day in and Day out topping game Chart. Bioshock comes and goes.. This game just regain number 1 in US.
    =======================================================
    What about Halo3? Can top 4million like Wii sport? How long? mmmm

  • RedDaemon

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 12:12 am PT

    dude Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is like crack. I love that game and seriously cannot get enough of it... Gamespot messed up the review, big time.

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